Université de Montréal
EN-3: Student Life

The “Fédération des Associations Étudiantes de l’Université de Montréal” (FAECUM) has a sustainability committee that provides many services to their members and actively promotes the ecological awareness in the University community. It organizes different events (such as annual Environment Week), provides washable dishes for events, offers compost services, manages repair work at the bicycle station, etc.
http://www.faecum.qc.ca/

The “Action Humanitaire et Communautaire” (AHC) organizes activities to engage and raise awareness of the social economy. In short, through their values this group promotes the empowerment and development of the community by providing the necessary support for the personal and professional development of members of the university community. Some of their activities include “Le Grand Bazar” (Second hand clothes sale) “Popotes communitaires” (Community and cultural cooking) and “Les paniers de noel” (Christmas food basket for the students in economic needs)
http://ahc.umontreal.ca/

The “Éco-leaders” have the role to exercise leadership related to sustainable development issues in his immediate environment. They are part of a network of people particularly concerned by environmental issues and want to provide solutions. Éco-leaders are the connection between the central actors of sustainable development on campus and the university community.
https://ecoudem.wordpress.com/

The acronym P.A.U.S.E. (which stands for Production Agricole Urbaine Soutenable et Écologique) means "Sustainable and Ecological Urban Farming"; its primary purpose is to give the University’s community the means to produce healthy food on campus while respecting the environment.

The project includes eight community gardens whose maintenance tasks and crops are shared by the volunteers (students and employees). Each of these gardens includes flowering plants that feed pollinators and gardeners who are encouraged to adopt environmentally friendly farming methods through training, group outings and community gardening sessions.
https://www.facebook.com/pause.udem/

Volunteer partners and university community have planted 2150 trees on the mountain campus in collaboration with Alliance Foret Urbaine (Urban Forest Alliance). The plan is to increase the tree canopy to 15%. The UDEM is at 15% at this moment.
http://www.allianceforeturbaine.com/

A multitude of student-run coffee exist on campus and many of them put in place sustainability initiatives. For example, they offer:
- Composting services
- Discounts for reusable mugs
- Products with compostable packages
- Fair-trade products

An explicit statement concerning sustainability is mentioned on their website (e.g. Vivarium, Café Acquis de droit).

En Vrac is a non-profit organization managed by students who volunteer to offer organic staple foods (nuts, grains, dried fruits, flours, etc.) at the lowest possible cost, without packaging. It is located on the main campus.
(https://commandeenvrac.wixsite.com/accueil)

The Fond Amelioration de la Vie Etudiante (FAVE; fund for the improvement of student life), offers funding for a large diversity of project including those related to sustainability. It aimed to improve student life at Universite de Montreal (typically funds project such as the revitalization of common spaces, student cafes and sustainable development initiatives).The FAVE is financed out of the student tuition fees (25$ per trimester with possibility of retracting).
The evaluation committee is joint between the Direction and students.
https://bourses.umontreal.ca

The "Dozen of sustainable development" it’s a 12-day event that happens in March where they take place a series of lectures and activities around the theme of sustainable development.

Since 2016, this event is organized with the collaboration of student groups dedicated to sustainability in the affiliated schools, i.e. HEC Montréal and Polytechnique Montréal.
Most of these activities are free.
www.faecum.qc.ca/

On November 2018, the sixth version of the «Conférence de la Montagne » raised the debate on the relevance of sustainable development to reduce the effects of human activity on ecosystems.

This conference attracted nearly 1000 people to the Ernest-Cormier amphitheater and its online distribution was followed by another 5000 people. Three speakers with different backgrounds agreed that action must be taken to limit the harmful effects of human activity on the planet and its ecosystems. They also expressed their different views on the relevance of sustainable development as the only solution.
https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/article/2018/11/05/une-utopie-le-developpement-durable/

The Environment Forum was hold on February 9, 2018 at UdeM. The theme was "Committed researchers". This forum gave the opportunity to students and research groups to highlight their environmental research and initiatives at the Université de Montréal.
http://bio.umontreal.ca/forum-environnement/

Each year, the Cultural Activities of Student Services offer a program that invites political, environmental, social, cultural and artistic reflection through a unique vision of recognized or emerging filmmakers.

Two films directly related to sustainability are offered at least once a year and are followed by a conference-debate with filmmakers (if possible) to discuss several issues related to engagement.

Most of these projections are free of charge.
https://www.sac.umontreal.ca/

The university counts with a Biology Station in the Laurentians area (SBL). Covering an area of 16.4 km2, the territory of the SBL is located 75 km north of Montreal, in the heart of the Lower Laurentians. The territory has the status of a "projected" biodiversity reserve since 2009.

Each year, the station host teaching activities, scientific projects, business meetings and training sessions. Nine biology courses take place every year that include outdoor activities in their programs. The station is also available to students writing their thesis who wish to have access to natural and quiet environment during their writing process. All outdoor activities at the Biological Station follow the principles of the Leave No Trace program, as it is a protected area.

Classes that take place at the SBL: BIO6065/BIO3441/BIO6441/BIO2854/BIO3753/BIO3843/BIO2440/BIO2703/BIO2476/BIO2350

https://sbl.umontreal.ca/accueil/

Last year, the theme of the “Mobilisation de connaissances” course was sustainable mobility and Sustainable Nutrition on campus. The students presented 10 proposals through posters that were later exposed at an sustainability event in HEC Montreal, one of the two Universite de Montreal’s associated schools.

In the curriculum of several courses there is an obligatory or optional book co-written by the professor of the University of Montreal Isabelle Thomas: “La ville resiliente”: comment la construire? This book provides a collection of the most recent knowledge on the adaptation of cities to climate change and brings together the reflections of professor-researchers and professionals not only from Quebec but also from France, Switzerland, the United States and Brazil. The authors sharply analyze some of the most pressing controversies on climate, a thorny subject and a source of great public concern.

The group “Éco-leaders” offer a multitude of workshops DIY for different products:

Dishwasher liquid
Laundry
Tawashi (sponge)
Lip balm
Toothpaste
Beeswax wrapping
Deodorant

They also organize discussions on different subjects like:

Digital pollution
Greenwashing
Veganism
Zero waste

Other activities available to the students are: Winter’s bazar, projection of documentaries, conferences, cooking classes zero waste etc.

Students have access to a website where the different units of the institution and companies post their job offers.

Students can search through the job offers using fields of study (such as "Environment and Prevention") which include jobs related to the environment and sustainable development. Students can also create an alert related to this sector of activity.

The Sustainability Office uses this service for its own job offers.

The Student Initiative Projects (PIE) aim to encourage and support the development of student projects at the Université de Montréal. The program is funded by the University’s Student Services and administered by the FAECUM (the federation of student associations). Sustainability-related projects are eligible for the program.

The Montreal Declaration for the Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence is the result of the work of a multidisciplinary and interuniversity scientific team based on a citizen and student consultation process with experts and stakeholders in AI development.

The Montreal Declaration for Responsible Development of artificial Intelligence is an initiative of Université de Montréal and follows three objectives:

1. Develop an ethical framework for the development and deployment of AI;

2. Guide the digital transition so that everyone can benefit from this technological revolution;

3. Open a space for national and international dialogue to collectively achieve an inclusive, equitable and ecologically sustainable development of AI.

The 25th Christmas Basket Campaign was launched this year.
The university community mobilize to raise money and non-perishable food to help UdeM students in need. The goal is to distribute 500 Christmas food baskets and collect $100,000.